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Leyland keeps perspective after Boston tragedy

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Tigers, Mariners honor Boston 0:39

4/16/13: The Tigers and Mariners honor the victims of the Boston Marathon tragedy with a moment of silence prior to the game

By Jason Beck
/
MLB.com |

SEATTLE -- Like so many people around baseball, Tigers manager Jim Leyland saw the news reports of the tragedy at the Boston Marathon and was heartbroken. Like many, too, he said it makes the day-to-day issues around baseball seem trivial.

"It puts somebody getting on the manager about the lineup card, worrying about who you bring in as a relief pitcher, it kind of puts it all in perspective," Leyland said Tuesday. "I was sitting there thinking about that today.

"Here we are, playing this game. There's the good, the bad, the ugly, and all this stuff goes on, and it's your job and it's a very serious thing. But in reality, when you see what happened to that one family in particular, that's just gut-wrenching and heartbreaking, and this doesn't seem so important. It blows my mind what happened to that one poor family."

Leyland was referring to the family of 8-year-old Martin Richard, one of those killed by the explosions near the marathon's finish line in downtown Boston.

"It just breaks your heart, a bunch of innocent people having a good time," Leyland continued. "Some things, I guess you're just not supposed to understand."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.